Even as city residents continue to face parking woes whenever they venture out with their vehicles, work on some of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s multi-level car parking (MLCP) projects have been delayed for a long time. Some of these projects were supposed to be commissioned at least two years ago. At a press conference on Thursday, Mayor V.V.Rajesh admitted that “even 60%” of some of the MLCP projects have not been completed, blaming the previous administration for the delays. He also pointed at access-related issues in the existing parking lots. Administrative sanction was accorded to a total of three MLCPs in the city way back in 2018. Initially, these were planned under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 1.0 scheme. One of these parking lots, with seven floors and a capacity to park 102 cars, located within the Corporation office premises, was completed. However, the projects at Putharikandam Maithanam and Medical College continued to drag on due to various issues. With the execution period of projects under AMRUT 1.0 coming to an end in 2023, the two MLCP projects were transferred to the Smart City scheme as these projects could not be accommodated under AMRUT 2.0. The AMRUT 1.0 scheme had a component for ‘improvement in urban transport facilities’, under which the MLCPs were planned. However, the AMRUT 2.0, which focuses more on drinking water related issues, does not have such a component. The MLCP at Medical College, estimated to cost ₹19 crore, can accommodate a total of 210 cars. The other MLCP, located at a corner of the Putharikandam Maithanam, also has almost a similar design.
Published – April 30, 2026 08:58 pm IST
